Chuck vs the Kansas City Shuffle
by mxpw
Summary: Third story in my Casey/Chuck bonding series. Last chapter. Things are explained, Casey pouts and fights with Sarah, and Chuck gets a happy ending. I even managed to meet my promise of a little Charah.
1. The Setup

**Author's Note**: Okay, so initially I didn't plan to write much fanfiction during the next month, but this story kept coming back to me no matter how hard I tried to resist. Besides I needed a distraction from obsessing over the fate of the show and what will happen in the finale. So here is the first chapter of a four chapter fic. This story takes place in the same alternate Chuckverse as my previous other two stories: Chuck vs. The Sweet Science and Chuck vs. Two Smoking Barrels. Like the other two, there are similar thematic, character, and plot links between the three stories, but they are not traditional sequels. This story will be a little different from the other two as I will be changing point of view for each chapter. It's also not a oneshot. There is no real connection between these stories and the show's current canon. However, if I were forced to give a proper context, this story takes place after events in Chuck vs. The Lethal Weapon.

For the first chapter, we have Casey. Be kind, I've never written in Casey's point of view before and it's...hard. I don't think I did the big sugar bear justice. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

"I am fed up."

Casey looked up from price checking the DVD players to see Chuck standing just off to the side. The nerd was standing up much straighter than usual, his arms crossed over his chest, and his eyes steady and focused. Casey blinked and straightened up in response. He couldn't remember the last time he had seen Bartowski look so serious and confident. It kind of unnerved him.

He spun around to face Chuck head on, leveling his best impatient, no-nonsense stare at the younger man. To his surprise, Chuck didn't quake and waver under his gaze as he normally did. If anything, his stare seemed to embolden the man even further. "What the hell do you want, Bartowski?" He did what he usually did when faced with an unknown situation: he went on the offensive. It was becoming entirely too common these days where Chuck surprised him.

"I said, I am fed up."

"I heard you the first time." Casey pointed the price gun at Bartowski in a vaguely threatening manner and hoped the man got the message that he was not in the mood for his normal stupidity. "Unlike you, some people here actually care about doing their job."

"See, that's exactly what I'm talking about!" Chuck bristled and glared at him.

"Bartowski, I don't have time for your usual blathering."

"I'm tired of you constantly making fun of me. You're nothing but a bully."

Casey was genuinely surprised. Was Bartowski actually standing up for himself? This could either be a very good thing or a very bad thing. Maybe the firearms training and teaching him how to defend himself was not the best idea. He had to tread carefully, as he knew how quickly a confrontation with the kid could spiral out of control. Chuck just had a way of getting to him that no one else in his life ever had. "Watch your mouth, Bartowski."

There was real trepidation and uncertainty in the man's eyes, but Casey could actually see Chuck push those fears away and replace them with haughty confidence. He was suitably impressed. "Or what? You'll hurt me? Call me more bad names? Threaten me with your usual empty and inane threats? Go ahead." Chuck actually stepped closer and lowered his voice to a cool whisper. "I dare you."

Casey actually heard the plastic handle of the price gun crackle as his grip tightened. It was better the easily replaceable device than the irreplaceable Intersect. At least that's what he told himself was the reason for not beating the little snot into the ground. "Walk away right now and I promise I'll forget this conversation ever happened."

Bartowski just snorted in contempt. "Maybe I don't want you to forget that it happened."

Before he could stop himself his hand shot out and grabbed a large handful of Chuck's white shirt. He squeezed his fist, his fingers digging painfully into Chuck's chest, and pulled the other man closer. He growled, "Say another word and I'll start breaking bones."

Not only did Chuck not dissolve into a puddle of whining, terrified goo at his actions, but he actually chuckled, albeit with clear strain in his voice. "You can't hurt me, I'm the Intersect."

The little bastard actually had the gall to sound smug. He needed to disabuse Bartowski of the notion that he was free from retaliation. "Oh Chuck, there are a lot of things that I can do to you that won't stop you from flashing." He pulled Chuck even closer and jammed the end of the price gun into Chuck's abdomen. "Take for example the fact that things would probably be a lot easier for Walker and I with you stuck in the car do your unfortunate inability to continue walking."

To his relief, he saw the hesitation and fear return to the younger man's eyes. It seemed he had just pushed past the kid's threshold. Chuck was learning, and he was learning fast, but he still wasn't nearly as confident in the Great Game as he had been trying to put on. He honestly didn't know what he'd do if Chuck had continued pushing him. He would have almost had to do something, if only to maintain his authority over the kid. Such an action, of course, would have inevitably led to a fight with his partner, an ass chewing by the General, and probably seriously harming his cover. But if Chuck thought, for even one second, that he could actually manipulate him like he could do to Sarah, they'd be screwed. There'd be no stopping Chuck then from pretty much running roughshod over everything. Sometimes, only his ability to intimidate Bartowski was what kept the missions from devolving into complete disasters.

He loosened his grip on Chuck's shirt just slightly and waited for the man's response. He didn't have to wait long. "What do I have to do, Casey? Tell me. What do I have to do to earn your respect and get you to back off? Beat you in a fight? Kill somebody? Complete a mission single-handedly? I'm tired of you treating me like crap and I want it to stop. I'm tired of your constant digs about Sarah. I thought we had an understanding. Isn't that why you've been training me?"

Casey was seriously at a loss for words. Chuck really wanted his respect that much? He knew that Chuck often wore his heart on his sleeve, that he really did think of him as a friend, and that most days he was just as determined to get him to show his human side as he was determined to get into Walker's pants. Still, it always unnerved him how earnest Chuck was. He just wasn't used to such open displays of emotion, especially when they were directed toward him. Wasn't the fact that he hadn't bludgeoned Chuck to death over the time they'd spent together proof enough that he actually liked the idiot? Since when was it written he actually had to voice that affection out loud?

Casey let go of Chuck's shirt and gave him a rather mild push backward. "You're the Intersect, an asset. It's not necessary for you to earn my respect. I'm here because it's my job. And I've trained your sorry ass to make my job easier, that's all." He straightened up and crossed his arms over his chest. He did his best to drive home his point; he had to get Chuck off this dangerous path. "I'm not here to hold your hand and play nice. That's Walker's job." He poked Chuck in the chest. "I'm not here to talk with you until long hours of the night, braiding your hair and gossiping with you about the cute boy in class. That's Morgan's job." He poked Chuck again. "I'm not your friend, I'm your handler. That's _my_ job. Get that through your head and maybe things will go a lot smoother."

Chuck took a step back and rubbed his chest absentmindedly. "You know what, Casey? I don't believe you."

He growled, "I don't care what you believe."

Chuck just shook his head. "I'm gonna find some way of proving you wrong. I don't care if it takes me forever, but by the time I'm done, not only will you admit that you actually consider me a friend but that you like me too." Chuck grinned his stupid grin that always made Walker swoon and himself uncomfortably at ease. Damn Bartowski for being so easily likable. It was not the first time that Chuck reminded him of the younger brother he always wished he'd had.

Casey laughed, but it was a strained laugh. The thing was, he knew Chuck was completely serious. Worse yet, he knew that he'd probably succeed too. But damn if he was going to give Bartowski an inch.

# # # # #

Casey sighed and rubbed a hand across his forehead wearily. They were _still_ arguing. They had been arguing for the last 15 minutes and their argument today was about the same mundane crap they'd been fighting over for the last month. On the one hand, it was a huge relief to Casey. Ever since Chuck had confronted him in the Buy More, he'd been watching the nerd extra carefully. He had no idea what the man was planning, but he knew he had to be planning _something_. Bartowski had been way too serious and determined to prove himself right, and it wasn't like him to give up on something he really wanted. Chuck Bartowski had a lot of negative qualities, but a lack of tenacity was not one of them. And yet, ever since he had started fighting with Walker, it seemed his mission to earn Casey's respect had disappeared. After a month of constant fighting, he was starting to relax. Chuck clearly had more important things on his mind.

Still, the fights were annoying as hell and he wished they would stop. His complaining and ribbing had not made a dent on either of them. If it was one thing it was another. Bartoski had slipped up with their cover around his sister. Walker had somehow offended Bartowski's delicate sensibilities. Bartowski had been late. Walker had been early. Blah, blah, blah they went on and on in circles. They fought about anything and everything and neither had been very pleasant individuals since the fighting began. They were starting to fight everywhere and all the time too: in Castle, at Bartowski's, on cover dates, in the Orange Orange. He could not get a moment's peace because of it. So far they hadn't let it bleed into any actual missions, but he figured it was only a matter of time. Neither of his two idiot teammates was particularly adept at hiding their emotions, especially for each other.

To make matters worse, with each passing day their fighting seemed to escalate to become louder, more biting, more on point. Today it appeared to be as bad as it'd ever been. It seemed that the idiot was actually breaking up with her yet again. Casey shook his head. One of these days, Walker was liable to kill Bartowski for screwing with her head so much; of course that wasn't to say he didn't appreciate the fallout. Watching his team members argue and bicker was about the only decent form of entertainment he got these days even if he did want them to stop. He'd take what he could get.

"I'm sorry, but I just can't keep doing this!" Bartowski yelled. His face was an odd reddish color. It reminded him of a baboon's ass. Frankly, he was surprised the kid had the balls to confront Walker so directly, and in front of him no less. Usually he just resorted to passive aggressive barbs in an attempt to get Walker to open up to him. "It's the same thing every time. I think we're actually getting somewhere and then bam! You pull the rug out from under me again. I can't take it anymore, Sarah. I'm tired of you pushing me away and building walls around yourself. I'm tired of all the back and forth. I just want something real for once." Bartowski calmed himself considerably. Casey arched an eyebrow and grunted contemplatively to himself as he watched Bartowski rein in his emotions quickly to present a placid front. Bartowski was getting better at controlling himself.

It seemed that all the time they had been spending together hadn't been a complete waste. Maybe the kid was finally starting to learn what it took to be in this line of work.

He looked at his watch and groaned. There was still 20 minutes left in Bartowski's lunch break, which meant that if he had any hope of getting any work done, he still had 20 minutes left of listening to Bartowski and Walker sharing their _feelings_. It was times like this where he actually wished they were screwing just so they could make up already and leave him alone.

"Chuck, this is not really the best place to be having this kind of conversation."

Casey smirked at the very tightly controlled, annoyed tone in Walker's voice. It was clear as day to him that she was _very_ upset. He almost laughed at the not so subtle way she kept trying to indicate him off in one of Castle's many alcoves, but Bartowski didn't seem to care about having an audience. Walker must have done something especially harsh to get Bartowski riled up enough to hash out their drama in front of anybody, let alone him.

It was obvious that his partner was doing her best to maintain her control; the way her eyes seemed frozen in ice, her arms held tightly to her sides, her entire body screaming to anyone who would listen that she was not to be messed with right now. He could only imagine how much she probably wanted to hit something at this point. How much she probably wanted to hit Chuck. He knew that if Bartowski had been arguing with him the way he and Walker had been fighting lately, he'd probably already have killed the little twerp. Still, he knew that this probably wasn't easy for his partner. He knew how much she actually liked Bartowski, but was doing her best to maintain her sense of professionalism in an increasingly complicated situation.

It was clearly a losing battle. About the only upside to the whole fiasco was that Walker had had the willpower to hold out this long. He just wished she'd never let herself get compromised in the first place. If he was being honest, on his really good days, he often found himself getting upset at Bartowski on Walker's behalf. It was a brothers-in-arms feeling that he rarely got these days, but if anyone could bring that feeling out of him, it was his partner (and his idiotic asset, but he really didn't like dwelling on that fact). If the idiot just showed a little more patience, he knew he'd eventually win out. There was no need to push so hard for something that couldn't really happen. All he was accomplishing was making Walker withdraw in upon herself, completely defeating his repeated hopes for getting her to open up to him.

He shook his head and looked down at the file in his hand. He tried to read about the latest intelligence regarding recent Fulcrum movements, but the soap opera playing out in front of him was too hard to resist.

"I should have just left with Cole, at least then I wouldn't have to put up with this crap."

He froze and barely stopped himself from whistling out loud. Damn. Even he had to admit that was crossing the line. He peeked over the top of the file to see Bartowski's reaction. He felt a brief flare of pity at the pain and sadness that was plainly written across Chuck's whole face.

"Maybe you're right. Maybe it would be best if we just stopped this. For good this time." Bartowski moved his hand to indicate everything that was between them. "That's probably for the best. I wouldn't want you to _compromise_ yourself," Bartowski sneered. "God knows that if the great Sarah Walker ever showed any real emotion, the Universe would probably collapse in upon itself."

Walker's face was blank and he could see just how rigid and tense her body was. Coldly, she responded, "Fine. Then from now on, we're just coworkers."

Anger returned to Bartowski's face, his eyes narrowing. "Fine. Sounds good to me!" He spun on his heel and marched over to the steps leading out of Castle. "I'm going back to work. Don't bother stopping by later, _Agent Walker_."

Wow, maybe he was finally getting his wish after all. He had never heard Bartowski sound so cold and angry before. He stared at Bartowski's back as he walked up the stairs and out into the frozen yogurt shop. Once the kid had disappeared from view, he quickly found Walker, who was staring at him.

"Not a word, Casey."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Please, don't even pretend that you didn't hear everything."

Casey shrugged his shoulders and figured there was no point in pretending he hadn't been listening. "Kinda hard not to, what with you two lovebirds yelling at each other like that. Or should I say former lovebirds?" Casey grinned.

Sarah narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. She didn't say a word.

He put down the file on the desk in front of him, giving up any pretense of reading. He gazed levelly at his partner. "So how long do you think he'll last this time before he comes running back begging to get back together? A day? A week?"

Again, she didn't respond. She pointedly turned to her own intelligence update sitting on the large table in front of her. She looked so tightly coiled that the slightest touch would probably send her exploding angrily in any direction. She could try ignoring him all she wanted, but he was not about to give up his fun that easily. "And how long until you get all desperate and pathetic and take him back like nothing happened?"

Her shoulders twitched and she slammed the file folder onto the desk. Finally, a reaction! He smiled and waited for her to unload. "Can't you ever just stop? Just once?"

"I know it's been a while for you, but if you just gave the idiot a thrill once in a while stuff like this would never happen." He smirked as her eyes widened and then narrowed into slits. He could practically feel the heat radiating off of her. She was really upset, her face getting flushed. Then realization slammed into him and he snapped forward in his chair, his own eyes narrowing and boring into her. "Or is that what happened? You finally slipped, gave him what he wanted, but then took it all back after it happened, didn't you?"

Walker shut down completely, the only indication that he was onto something was the utter coldness of her eyes. "Drop it, Casey."

He grunted in triumphant. "You did." He whistled this time. "I'm impressed. I knew you could be cold, but I'm finally starting to see how you got to be the CIA's best. Not that that's saying much."

"I said drop it, Casey. I am not having this conversation with you."

He shrugged his shoulders, not caring whether or not she wanted to talk about it. "I gotta admit, as a way of getting Bartowski to back off it's a bit harsh, but it's about time you started doing your job right."

Sarah gritted her teeth, what control she still had left he could see slipping away. "Chuck and I did not, nor have we ever, slept together. So just drop it."

"Not from lack of trying, I'm sure."

"Nothing happened!"

"I don't believe you."

She pushed away from the table and stood up. He quickly straightened up in his chair, preparing himself in case she attacked. She wasn't usually one for physical confrontations but he knew that Chuck was about the only thing that could get her crazy enough to actually lash out physically at someone. It'd been a while since he had a good tussle.

To his great disappointment, she didn't come at him. In fact, she didn't say a single word. She just turned her back to him and walked up the stairs and into the store. Damn it, he was really hoping he might get more out of her than that. His curiosity was piqued though. He was going to have to give the surveillance tapes a much closer look than he had been recently to make sure she hadn't done anything stupid. The last thing he wanted was to have to report her. He doubted he'd find anything. They weren't careless enough to do anything in a place where he might be able to observe them. No, if anything went down, it had happened at Walker's hotel room.

He would give her a few more days to fix things with Bartowski. Otherwise he was going to have to take things into his own hands. He couldn't have their little romantic squabbles disrupting the team dynamic.

* * *

Will Casey find out why Chuck and Sarah have been fighting? Will Chuck and Sarah get back together? Has Chuck forgotten his promise? Should Casey be scared? These questions and many more will hopefully be answered, so please stick around till next week! Not that I will actually update next week, it's just a saying.

And don't forget to buy your Subway on Monday!


	2. The Hook

**Author's Note**: Well, this came out a little later than I initially expected, but the finale really messed up my fanfic writing for a while. Still, it looks like I'm on some kind of posting spree. Two stories in one day! A new record for me. Hope you like this new chapter, it's setting up things for Chapter 3. Things are about to get very interesting, or you know, at least I think they will.

Hope you enjoy!

* * *

It was going to be most epic grudge match in the history of the world. Or at least it would be if you listened to Morgan Grimes.

"It's gonna be epic. Like Frodo going to Mordor epic."

"Come on, Morgan, I think that's stretching it a little far."

Morgan shook his head emphatically no. "No, no, I'm not stretching it far enough."

Chuck smiled and rolled his eyes just slightly. "I appreciate the vote of confidence, little buddy, but I'm just trying to get Casey to cut me a little slack. I'm not saving the world for all hobbit kind."

"That's where you're wrong, Chuck. You beating Casey is like David beating Goliath, the Rebels blowing up the Death Star, the nerd getting the girl."

Chuck grinned just a tad smugly. "But Morgan, I already did get the girl."

Morgan got all excited. "See! You're already a third of the way there!"

Chuck laughed and looked up to see if he could spot Casey moving in the TV section. He couldn't see the man at the moment but he knew he was skulking in that general area. He turned back to face his best friend. "So you really want to help me out?"

"Are you kidding, I'm always ready to defend BuyMoria against evil trolls."

Chuck laughed loudly, drawing curious stares from passing customers. "Oh Morgan, you better not let Casey hear you ever say that."

Morgan grinned weakly, and quickly looked furtively around him for signs of Casey. "Good point. Definitely not."

Chuck was about to open his mouth and agree with Morgan about Casey, but snapped his mouth shut when he saw who was heading his way out of the corner of his eye. He groaned loudly and waited for Jeff and Lester to reach the Nerd Herd counter. He didn't have to wait long, unfortunately.

"What's this we hear about you challenging Lurch to a fight, Chuck?"

Morgan mouthed 'Lurch' to Chuck with widened eyes and Chuck just shook his head at the other two men. "I'm not challenging Casey to a fight. Are you insane?"

Lester crossed his arms in front of his chest and stood up straight. "That's good because there are no fights allowed on Buy More premises without going thru the official Buy More fight promoters."

Jeff pointed both thumbs back at himself. "That's us."

"Yeah, we want our cut."

"Your cut?"

Lester rolled his eyes like Chuck had just asked the stupidest question in the world. "Of course, our cut. Do you have any idea how much money we could make off of people watching Casey pound you into paste?"

"Oh gee thanks, guys."

"It's nothing personal, Chuck, it's just business."

Jeff nodded in agreement. "Mom gave me some pointers about how to set up a proper prison brawl so we could at least make it interesting for you." Jeff paused and looked at Chuck with wide, hazy eyes. "Do you prefer the toothbrush shank or the bar of soap in the pillowcase?"

"Uh…neither?"

Jeff sighed like Chuck was being unnecessarily difficult. Lester jumped in before Jeff got on a prison tangent, "Why are you fighting Casey anyway?"

"I'm not; I'm just trying to get him to be a little nicer."

Lester scoffed. "Come on, that's like trying to get Jeff to be sober for longer than 24 hours."

"Stranger things have happened."

"Chuck is totally gonna be the Han Solo to Casey's Boba Fett," Morgan added.

Chuck grinned at his best friend. "It's your classic case of good versus evil."

"Coke versus Pepsi," Morgan said with a smirk.

"Mac versus PC," Chuck added, getting into the shtick.

"Rocky versus Ivan Drago," Morgan said.

"Jeff versus sobriety."

"Cylons versus Colonials."

"Master Chief versus the Covenant."

"Ecks versus Sever," Lester said.

Lester's comment threw both Chuck and Morgan off their rhythm and they turned to stare at Lester at the same time. "Dude, Ecks versus Sever?" Morgan asked.

"What?"

"It's just I've never heard anyone name-drop that before."

"Maybe you just don't have as cultured a palette as I do, Charles."

"Riiiiight." Chuck purposefully turned to face Morgan only. "So, I was thinking that if we cornered Casey we could get him to take the bait."

"Yeah, we'll make him angry enough he doesn't have a choice."

Chuck blanched at the image of Casey turning into the Hulk, destroying everything in his path, including his and Morgan's frail bodies. "Um…I don't know about the angry part, Morgan. You wouldn't like him when he's angry."

"Good point, ix-nay on the anger-ay."

"What can we do to help?"

Chuck's eyes widened in shock and he stared at Lester. Did Lester just _volunteer_ to help? "You want to help?"

"We're loyal citizens of BuyMoria too, Chuck."

"Wow, okay, I'll think about it and get back you."

"You just let me know if you change your mind about the shank, Chuck."

"Uh, sure, Jeff, you'll be the first to know."

# # # # #

Chuck sighed in self-pity and rested his chin in the palm of his hand. He was leaning onto the Nerd Herd counter and staring at nothing in particular. He had been in such a good mood earlier that morning, riffing with Morgan about the Casey situation, and then he had seen her. It was like a bucket of ice cold water had doused him and then he'd been beaten with a two-by-four for 30 minutes. It was ridiculous how she affected his moods; one minute happy, the next minute morose and lethargic. He had been doing so well too, getting over his annual early morning funk (Chuck hadn't had a good morning since the breakup) and actually managing to enjoy the day for once.

Then there she was and good mood? Gone. She had played her part perfectly; all smiley and bubbly on her way toward him, but to anyone that actually knew her, unlike before they broke up, her smiles and happiness to see him were now only for show. There was no longer happiness there. She was making it clear to anyone that might see that she was only there because she had to be, because it was for the cover, and that she'd rather be anywhere else. After giving him a very chaste, all too brief kiss on the lips, her eyes inscrutable, she had spun around and left in search of Casey. The greeting had taken all of five seconds, that's how quickly she had wanted to get away from him.

God how it hurt, to be so close and yet he might as well have been in a different state.

Chuck was miserable, absolutely miserable. He tried to deny it, but he couldn't. It was his fault too. He only had himself to blame for the situation with Sarah. It wasn't until he first started avoiding her and then especially after breaking up with her a week ago that he realized just how truly he was dependent on her for making his life worth living. He literally felt as if he were missing an arm or a leg, which really didn't make sense to him, because he still saw her every day. He still spent time with her (for their cover), he still talked to her (about the missions), but there was a wall between them now, and he had put it there. He had made the decision to be apart from her.

He missed her smile, he missed being able to make her laugh. He missed talking with her, about his day, his job, Ellie. He missed their intimacy and the innate connection that they had always seemed to have. He just missed her, period. His only consolation, if such a thing could be considered a consolation, was that their separation seemed to be bothering her just as much, maybe even more. She was much quieter than usual, not that she was ever much of a talker, barely talking at all. Her movements were slow, as if she was walking through quicksand, and her eyes always had a constant sadness that made him ache. She wouldn't look at him unless it was necessary, and except for when she was on missions or doing the job, she seemed to be very distracted, as if her mind was constantly somewhere else. He hoped that wherever she went, she was thinking about him, but he was afraid to ask, afraid that if he knew just how badly she was taking things, he wouldn't be able to take it anymore and he'd go back to her. He knew she was still very upset with him for putting her in this position to begin with.

But it couldn't be helped. This was how it had to be. He needed to prove to Casey that he was wrong, he needed to one-up the man. Yeah, it was kind of petty and stupid, but he could only take so much. And since he could never beat Casey in a fight, outthinking him was the only thing he could come up with. It was the only thing that made sense.

Chuck sighed and not for the first time considered scrapping all his plans and giving up. Every day it was a new struggle. Every morning he would wake up, imagining that she was lying next to him, that he had slept with her in his arms the night before. And every morning that hope proved false. It was like waking up and then being punched in the gut. She was no longer there. She no longer smiled at him or encouraged him. He could no longer feel her. It was depressing.

It was so stupid. Who cared if Casey didn't like him? Who cared if Casey mocked him or needled him about his feelings for Sarah? Why did he care? He had had a beautiful girlfriend, even if she was a fake girlfriend, so why was he letting it get to him? He wanted to succumb to temptation, but he didn't. He channeled the disappointment he felt over Sarah being gone into even more determination to go through with his plan. He would not give in, he would succeed. The payoff was worth the temporary heartache. He wouldn't let everything that had been done be in vain. He refused to let all that pain be for nothing.

That was, while in the throes of a rare good mood, he had determined that today was going to be the day he initiated his plan. But now that that good mood was gone, he was once again second guessing himself. He wasn't sure how much longer he'd be able to hold out. He had to do this now.

He motioned to Morgan to come over. "Hey, Morgan, I'm going to go talk to Casey."

"Now?"

Chuck just nodded and forced himself out of his chair and he walked around the counter to stand in front of his friend. He placed a hand on Morgan's shoulder. "Grab Lester and Jeff and bring them with you." He squeezed Morgan's shoulder. Why did he feel like he was about to go to his own funeral? "Wish me luck."

"Good luck, and May the Force be with you!"

Chuck actually managed to laugh and ended up seeking out Casey with a smile on his face. He was going to have to make sure to do something nice for Morgan for helping him make it through this whole ordeal.

He spotted Casey easily enough, the man was like a redwood amongst saplings. He was still in the TV section, only this time, he seemed to have a potential customer under his thrall. Chuck wasn't sure he'd ever understand how Casey could be such an abrasive jackass most of the time, and yet still be personable enough to be one of the store's best salesmen (not that that was saying much at this store). He figured it was just another facet of the mystique and myth of John Casey.

He stood and watched as Casey reeled the man in. It only took Casey a few more minutes to sell a brand new 50" plasma TV. Chuck was impressed. He had also noticed Casey give him the Eye as he watched. Casey was already starting to get suspicious, which wasn't good. He had to move in now.

"Hey, Casey, do you mind if I have a word with you?"

Casey scowled at him, not so subtly indicating with his eyes the customer standing next to him.

"It's important."

Casey sighed and turned to the other man. "Excuse me, sir, but it looks like I'm being called away. Just take this tag up to the service desk and they'll arrange everything for you."

The man took the offered paper hesitantly, clearly not completely comfortable leaving Casey behind. "Thank you for all your help," he said and walked off.

"What the hell do you want, Bartowski? Did you flash?" He cracked his knuckles and glared at Chuck. "I swear if you just cost me a sale I'm going to be very…displeased."

Chuck paled slightly but remembered to stay resolved. He could do this, he was going to do this. "I don't know if you remember, but I told you about a month ago that I was going to think up some way to make you admit we're friends."

Casey growled and reached out to grab Chuck's arm. "Do you mean to tell me that I might have just lost a sale because of you getting your panties in a bunch over something that happened a month ago?"

Chuck winced as the pressure on his arm increased. "Ow, Casey, you're hurting me."

Casey grunted and loosened his grip just slightly. "Get on with it, Bartowski, so that I can go back to doing real work."

"Look, okay, I'm sorry, but I'm tired of you always thinking you can do just like you're doing now," Chuck said and pointed to the way Casey was still holding his arm.

"So what, this is your attempt at manning up?"

"Something like that."

Casey rolled his eyes and grunted again. "Consider yourself a man, whatever good that will do you, and leave me alone." Casey let go and started to walk away, probably in search of the man he had been helping earlier.

Chuck moved his arm in a circle, trying to get some of the feeling back, and stumbled after Casey. "Hey! I wasn't finished!"

Casey whirled around to glare at him. "What more do you want!?"

Chuck raised himself to his highest height. He couldn't allow himself to be intimidated or to appear scared. Casey was a well-honed predator; he could smell fear and knew just where to strike to exploit his prey's biggest weakness. "I want to challenge you to a contest."

Casey stared at him for several seconds and then he burst out laughing. "You want to challenge me to a _contest_?" He continued to laugh hard, taking in big gasps of air. "Are you serious?"

Chuck really tried hard not to pout, but he couldn't help being a little put out. He had expected this reaction but it still made it hard to swallow. "Come on Casey, I'm serious."

"A contest." He was still lightly laughing. "I thought you were going to challenge me to a duel or arm wrestling or just about anything that shows you actually have a pair."

"Screw you, Casey. I'm not stupid to think I could actually beat you in a fight. I know you'd kick my ass."

Casey sobered quickly at that, his face for the most part unreadable, but there was the hint of a smile beginning. "And just what kind of 'contest'," Casey made air quotes, "are we talking about here?"

Chuck made a face; was it that hard for Casey to take him seriously? "I was hoping that we could come up with an idea together."

Casey chuckled and looked at him in disbelief. "Sometimes, Chuck, you really do surprise me."

"Uh, thanks, I think."

Casey grunted and looked at him with an unreadable expression on his face. "And when would this contest take place?"

"I don't know."

"Where?"

Chuck shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know."

Casey crossed his arms in front of his chest, and smirked. "So let me get this straight. You are the one challenging _me_ to a contest, but you don't have any ideas on what kind, when, or where it will happen?"

"Pretty much. I thought we could iron out the details together. I figured it was the only way to get you to agree if I let you decide on the parameters."

"So you want me to do all the work."

Chuck glared at Casey. "Don't even. I know you, you'd make me do whatever you wanted anyway. The only thing I'm gonna insist on is that it's something I can actually do."

"So that limits us to video game playing, screaming like a girl, and mooning over Walker." Casey reached out and poked Chuck in the chest. "Gotta say, Chuck, my odds aren't looking good."

"Ha-ha, Casey." Chuck could finally see Morgan, Lester, and Jeff heading his way. He had been wondering where the three were, he needed them to put the nail in Casey's cooperation. "Don't tell me you're afraid you're gonna lose."

Casey immediately went red, his body tensing up. But before he could retort, the other three arrived, Lester not even wasting any time before interjecting with, "Yeah, you chicken?"

Jeff started making bwak-bwak-bwak noises while Morgan added his own dig. "It's okay, Casey, I'm sure Chuck would go easy on you."

Casey growled and all four of them unconsciously took a step back. Chuck briefly contemplated putting a stop to things before it got bloody, but Casey had yet to agree to things so he had to keep pressing. "Come on, Casey, you in or out?"

Lester stage whispered to Jeff, "I don't think he's going to go for it. Better get your shank ready."

"All of you shut up."

"Why should we?" Morgan asked.

"Um, guys, maybe we should –"

Chuck never finished as Casey reached out with a hand, grabbed his arm and started dragging Chuck toward the exit.

Chuck immediately started protesting. "Hey, Casey, hey! What are you doing?" He was having a hard time keeping up with Casey's pace.

Morgan, Lester, and Jeff were trailing behind, adding their own comments. "Run, Chuck, he's taking you back to his lair!"

"Go for the kidneys," Jeff bellowed.

Casey turned his head to glare at the three following and Chuck, to his dismay, saw his friends instantly freeze.

"Sorry, Chuck, but you're on your own!" Lester yelled before running back into the store.

Chuck sighed and resigned himself to his fate. Casey was clearly headed toward the Orange Orange. Well, at least he'd get to see Sarah one last time before Casey killed him.


	3. The Play

**Author's Note:** I wanna apologize for the delay in updating. I know I often have long lapses between updates, but this time it really wasn't my fault. The hard drive on my laptop crashed and it took me more than two weeks to get it fixed. I had a mild panic attack as I had thought I lost all my data, but fortunately, many weeks and several hundred dollars later, my computer is back to working and all my data complete. Let this be my PSA for the week: Always, no matter how unlikely you think a disaster might be, **back up your information**!

Also, let me just say, this was kind of a hard chapter to write. It was difficult to translate the thoughts in my head to actual writing. I'm not sure how in character our three favorite spies are (especially Casey), but I'm sure you'll let me know. Only one more chapter to go!

* * *

Casey half pushed, half threw the idiot onto the nearest chair once they landed on Castle's ground floor. He could hear Walker scrambling down the stairs into Castle, her breathing quick and erratic. She was yelling at him, trying to figure out why he was manhandling Chuck. He couldn't say anything, he was too angry.

He felt a strong, but soft, hand land on his forearm and he spun around to face Sarah. He had almost gone into attack mode, but thankfully, despite Bartowski's best efforts, he still had some control over his temper.

"What the hell is going on!?"

Casey growled and bored his eyes into Chuck, who was sitting quietly in the chair he'd been tossed to, gently rubbing his arm. To his great surprise, Chuck wasn't whining or complaining, he was just staring at the table in front of him. For some reason, this just made Casey angrier, like how dare Chuck get him all riled up and then not even have the decency to get pissed off himself.

"Your idiot boyfriend pissed me off."

Sarah groaned, rubbing a hand across her forehead in frustration. "For the last time, he's not my boyfriend."

Casey snorted in contempt, already calming down. He wanted to make some kind of snappish comment, like "Not for lack of trying on your part" or "Only because he doesn't want you", but even he wasn't that cruel. Normally, insinuating that Chuck was her boyfriend didn't annoy her, but since their fight, she'd become increasingly upset every time he mentioned the term. Casey suspected she didn't like being reminded of how messed up the relationship she had with Chuck was.

Truth be told, he had been a little concerned for his partner's mental health the last week. Ever since their breakup, she never seemed quite there. Her work wasn't sloppy, that was the only reason why he hadn't reported her, but he wished that she and the kid would wrap things up and go back to making cow eyes at each other. At least then Bartowski was only his normal, annoying self and Walker didn't make him feel like he'd just kicked a puppy every time he saw her.

"Yeah, well, maybe you should talk to him before I do something you'll regret."

Sarah sighed loudly and ran a quick hand through her hair. "What did he do now?"

Chuck spoke up for the first time, "I didn't _do_ anything."

Sarah whirled on Chuck, glaring at him. "You must have done something."

"Why, because Casey's pissed off? How is that any different from every other day of the week?"

Casey grunted and sat down across from Chuck. He stared at Chuck and Chuck stared back at him, defiance in his eyes. Casey had to fight against smiling. He would never admit it, but he liked this side of Chuck. It was about time Chuck started regularly having a backbone and acting more like a man. The only problem was that Chuck's spine typically rubbed him the wrong way (to be fair, Chuck rubbed him the wrong way regardless of whether or not he was standing up to him). Still, this whole situation was perversely amusing to him.

The two men continued to stare at each other, not saying a word. Out of the corner of his eye, he could still see Sarah standing rigidly, arms still crossed in front of her, still clearly annoyed. He almost laughed. Here he and Chuck were in yet another one of their confrontations and yet Sarah was the one most visibly losing her cool.

Finally, her anger boiled over and his partner demanded harshly, "Well? Somebody tell me what the hell is going on!"

It was time to nip this in the bud. "Moron here," Casey pointed emphatically at Chuck, "won't stop bothering me about some stupid contest. I'm tired of listening to him insist that he does anything but make me want to repeatedly drive a rusty nail through my right eye."

"Hey, no one's stopping you."

Casey started to lunge forward to grab Chuck so that he could pull him across the table, but Sarah interceded before his hands could wrap around the suddenly scrambling Chuck's throat. "Stop it, both of you!" Sarah forced Casey's hands back while simultaneously glaring at Chuck. "You stop antagonizing him, and you," Sarah now glared at him, "stop threatening him every time he opens his mouth."

Chuck smiled smugly at him while Sarah was looking away and Casey rolled his eyes in response. Not for the first time Casey was struck by just how childish Chuck could make him act. He really was like the younger brother he'd never had, doing his best to annoy the crap out of him. Which only made his determination to avoid this contest Chuck was dead-set on even greater. The problem was that Chuck was largely right with his assumptions, but he could never actually admit that to the nerd out loud and if Chuck somehow won, he'd have to do just that.

Sarah was speaking again and Casey forced himself to concentrate on her instead of Chuck; if he didn't, he was likely to try attacking the younger man again. "Okay, now both of you start explaining what the hell is going on. I'm tired of constantly having to referee between you two."

Chuck jumped in before Casey could even open his mouth, "I told Casey that I know he likes me, but he won't admit it. So I challenged him to a contest, and when I win he has to admit that he considers me a friend. I even told him he could choose what we do, but he's being unnecessarily difficult."

Casey's eyes widened. "_I'm_ being unnecessarily difficult? How many times do I have to tell you that I'm your goddamn handler? It doesn't matter if I like you or not!" Casey didn't even feel like dignifying Chuck's assertion that he would win with a response.

"This is what you two have been fighting over? Seriously?" Sarah had her hands on her hips, looking back and forth at them in disbelief. "You two are unbelievable!" She threw her hands up into the air and then spun on her heel and stormed back up the stairs toward the Orange Orange, muttering angrily under her breath the whole way.

"Wow, what crawled up her ass and died?"

Chuck snickered at his comment and Casey found himself smirking at the man across from him. "Yeah, I thought this was one of our more…restrained conversations."

Casey actually laughed at that and he shared a rare smile of commiseration with the younger man. He did wonder why Sarah had had such a strong reaction to their fighting (usually she just ignored them until they ran out of steam), but her temper had been out of whack for a while now and the rare moment of bonding quickly overrode his curiosity.

Still, their current topic of conversation was the perfect opportunity for Casey to finally bring up the issue of the broken relationship between Bartowski and his partner. "I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I wish you two would just fix things already so that Walker will stop acting like she hasn't gotten her bell wrung in years."

Chuck looked confused for several seconds before realization dawned in his eyes and he blushed red. "Not that it's really any of your business, but Sarah and I have never been…in that way before."

Casey rolled his eyes and grunted. "I know that, but at least before, her frustration was not so obvious. You mellowed her out." And he did know, or at least he was reasonably certain, that they hadn't crossed that line yet.

"Are you actually saying you want us to – you know?" Again, Chuck blushed.

Chuck's inability to discuss certain topics, like sex for instance, had never ceased to amuse Casey. Sometimes he liked bringing up the topic of his relationship with Sarah just to see him squirm. Teasing Chuck was often better than any movie or TV show out there.

"Of course not. I'm just saying, I want things back to normal. I'd like my partner back." He really did want his partner back. He missed the old Sarah, the Sarah that was confident, competent, emotionally sound (for the most part), and most importantly, not making him feel constantly uncomfortable by how pitiful she was looking.

Chuck's eyes brightened and he said eagerly, "Then do the contest."

"Huh?"

"I'll talk to Sarah if you do the contest."

Casey snorted and pushed up from the table. "I don't want her back that badly."

"Aw come on, Casey, I promise to go easy on you."

"Excuse me?"

Chuck stood up as well, looking every bit the confident man he had appeared in the Buy More when he first told Casey of his plan. "I said, that I would go easy on you." He leaned forward, putting himself in arms' reach, and said, "You know, let you lose with some dignity?"

Casey knew he was being manipulated, and rather expertly at that. He knew that he was being baited. He even knew that Chuck was acting way too confidently for someone so normally afraid to confront him. He _knew_. Warning signs, alarm bells, red flags were all appearing in his head, but he ignored them. He couldn't stop himself from becoming irate at Chuck's words. He was a bull with a red flag in front of him. He could not let Chuck get away with such a challenge. "If you don't shut up, Bartowski, you'll very soon be dying with no dignity."

"Ooooh, so scary." Chuck backed up, but not because of fear, but because he seemed to find Casey's words completely inconsequential. "Big words from a man obviously too afraid to face me on the field of battle." Chuck grinned at him.

If Casey hadn't been so blinded by rage, he might have laughed at the absurdity of Chuck's words. All the same, they only served to increase his desire to crush Chuck even more. "Fine," he gritted out through his teeth, their mashing together echoing in the underground room. "I get to pick what I'm going to destroy you in, Bartowski."

Chuck just rolled his eyes, unconcerned. "That's what I said earlier, Casey."

Casey loosened his grip on the edge of the table, briefly looking down to see if he had done any permanent damage to the tabletop. To his relief, the metal had not warped under his crushing grip. He hoped Chuck was grateful, the table had been the only thing keeping Casey from snapping Chuck in two and shoving him in one of Castle's many storage boxes.

An idea suddenly popped into his head and he instantly relaxed, the tension draining out of his body. With a sly grin he said to Chuck, "Paintball."

"Paintball?" Chuck's eyes widened and he started looking around Castle nervously.

"Yeah, paintball. It's time to see if what I've been teaching you has actually paid off." Casey compressed his lips into a thin smile. "My guess is it has not."

Some of Chuck's bravado evaporated and he seemed more like the awkward and unconfident man Casey was more used to. "But Casey, that's a team thing. It's no fun if it's just you and me."

Casey shrugged his shoulders. "Fine, then you can have Walker to hold your hand. That would make it more even for you anyway. I'm sure she won't mind."

"What? No! I don't want Sarah on my team."

Casey arched an eyebrow. "Oh really?" He had not expected such a vehemently negative reaction from Chuck at his suggestion. If anything, he had thought Chuck would jump at the opportunity to have Sarah on his team.

Chuck looked down at his feet, uncomfortable. Quietly he said, "Casey, I can barely talk to Sarah right now. You know that things aren't exactly…good between us. There's no way I could do this with her on my team."

"You guys seem to do okay on the missions."

Chuck shrugged. "It's just not the same, and it wouldn't be a mission. She wouldn't have to put aside certain…emotions to work with me. I doubt she'd even want to help me. Maybe before but now…" Chuck trailed off, looking up at the door to the Orange Orange.

"Christ, Bartowski, you see why I'm getting tired of this shit?"

"Yeah."

God, he sounded so pathetic it made him sick. Casey groaned at how much this breakup was messing up the team dynamic. Reluctantly he said, "We'll work something out."

* * *

"Casey, what is that?"

"Hmmm?" Casey looked up to face his partner. "What?"

Sarah pointed at the detailed topographical map that he was currently unrolling atop the picnic table. It was so large that he needed two sheets to properly encompass everything. "That!"

Casey actually felt his face flush as he realized that she was talking about the map. Unfortunately, he didn't think Walker would buy his excuse that his face was warming due to the spring heat. He usually didn't get embarrassed about such things, but Sarah just had a way about her, of making him feel like a naughty school boy when she thought he was doing something stupid. Defensively, he said, "I want to win, okay?"

Sarah put her hands on her hips and looked completely exasperated. "How did you even get those?"

Casey refused to look up and see her disapproving gaze. He diligently focused on the map in front of him and shrugged. He said quietly, evasively, "I know a guy."

Sarah arched a perfectly sculpted eyebrow. "You know a guy," she said, incredulous.

"Yeah." Casey looked back down at the papers in front of him again. He knew he was going overboard with this whole contest, and that the situation was becoming increasingly ridiculous. But he couldn't let Chuck win. Not after everything his idiot charge had said and done. Not after goading him so effortlessly. Not only was his pride hinging on a victory, but in many ways, his professionalism was as well. "Someone at the NRO owed me a favor."

"Casey!" Sarah exclaimed and he risked looking up at her. Now his partner just looked pissed off. "Please don't tell me that you actually used up a favor with someone at the NRO just so that you could beat Chuck at a game of capture the flag."

Casey quickly averted his eyes, making a show of studying the park's topography. After nearly an hour of arguing back and forth with Chuck (not to mention many attempts on Chuck's life), the two had hashed out a compromise. Chuck had tried to convince Casey that playing a video game, like his much beloved Call of Duty 4, would have been a much better idea than traipsing around some woods, shooting little balls of paint at each other. But Casey had been adamant that what they decided on be at least some representative of real world combat. He had insisted that if Chuck really wanted to go through with his stupid challenge, that they paintball. In deference to Chuck's gaming background, Casey had also agreed to include the objective of capturing the opposing team's flag. Chuck had argued that it was fairer, because if it was just them hunting each other in the park, he was sure Casey would "kill" him in no time. At least making Casey capture his flag as well as "kill" him would give Chuck slightly more of a chance against the older man; or so Chuck had claimed.

They had eventually compromised on teams as well. Casey had insisted that he didn't need any teammates, and that Chuck could have as many people on his team as he wanted, Casey would still win. Chuck wanted it to be fair. He would ask Morgan and Captain Awesome (who, according to Chuck, was an off-and-on paintballer, which didn't surprise Casey in the slightest, as the man seemed to be awesome at just about everything). Alternatively, Sarah would be on Casey's team. Three against two. Casey had no idea what lie Chuck had fed to his friends about why his seemingly sweet, demure girlfriend was not only playing on Casey's team instead of his own, but also why she was such a deadeye shot. He didn't really care.

Casey thought Chuck was insane, or purposefully wanted to lose. He had tried, unsuccessfully, to get Chuck to change his mind about Sarah, but he resolutely refused. Casey didn't understand, and his lack of understanding made him suspicious. He was watching Chuck and Sarah very carefully to see if he could pick up on anything between the two of them. But he had yet to see anything. As far as he could tell, the two had not even spoke to each other since he and Chuck had come to their agreement three days ago. He just couldn't believe that Chuck would rather risk losing something that seemed to be so important to him than patch things up with Sarah. Casey soon gave up arguing though when it became obvious Chuck wouldn't budge, a win was a win.

Sarah, for her part, had been more than a little annoyed at being dragged into what she called their "Idiotic pissing match". Still, it had only taken a few minutes to convince her to participate. Casey only had to dangle the opportunity to beat Chuck in front of her face and she had, reluctantly, agreed to be on Casey's team. Casey figured she was only pretending to be reluctant. If he was in her place, he'd take any opportunity he could to get revenge on the person that had hurt him as badly as she was clearly hurting.

Casey sighed and gave up any pretense of studying the map. He said, "It's not like it was the only one I had, okay?" Casey pointed down at the map and absently traced his finger along what looked like a path. "Besides, if I hadn't, how else would I have gotten these topographic satellite images of the park? It's not like I could put an official request in."

"Casey, it's just a game, not the Invasion of Panama."

Casey grunted in derision. "You're damn right. The Invasion of Panama was a clusterfuck. I should know, I was there."

"Really?"

"First deployment right out of the Academy." He studied the map intently. "The U.S. military is not the DEA. Never should have been there in the first place." He absently traced a finger along the map. "This – this will be perfect. No bad drops or collateral damage here."

"Yeah, we wouldn't want to mistakenly bomb the wrong bush or destroy an innocent tree." Sarah's tone was so dry that Casey winced. "It's just a game, Casey."

Casey looked up and pinned his partner with a skeptical glare. "Look me in the eye and tell me you don't want to beat him. That you don't want to get back at him for everything that's happened the last few weeks."

Sarah fidgeted and looked away. She couldn't look at him and that gave him a sense of satisfaction. Now she was the one being embarrassed. "That's not the point."

Casey shook his head in disgust. "God, even after everything, you're still pathetically hung up on him."

Sarah turned her back to him and mumbled to herself. "He was right. I can't believe he knew this was going to happen." Then she suddenly spun back around to face him, her face a mask save for the intensity in her eyes. "Alright, I suppose you have a plan."

"Of course. I was looking over these maps last night and I think the fastest route to the western part of the park is…"

# # # # #

Casey carefully put one foot in front of the other, making sure he didn't step on a twig or crush any leaves. Not for the first time he wondered just what the hell he was doing. It was not like Chuck was actually going to win. There was no way Casey could imagine Chuck beating him in a paintball match. Just no way. And with Chuck's refusal to team up with Sarah, his chances were even slimmer.

They confused the hell out of him. He had been going over the surveillance of the last month with extra care. Normally, he only did a surface check, making sure Chuck was secure and wasn't blathering like a schoolgirl to his sister about the latest mission. Occasionally, whenever Walker was around, he would give extra scrutiny to her interaction with the asset to make sure she hadn't compromised herself, but he had long ago given up studying every word and gesture between them. Walker was the best partner he'd ever had; he figured that afforded her a little leeway. So what if they maybe sat a little closer than necessary while watching a movie or kissed a little longer than really appropriate or ended up spooning in the middle of the night whenever Walker slept over? He wasn't that much of a heartless bastard. Besides, the more they did stuff like that, the more he could tease them with it later.

At least that had been his MO until the idiot broke up with Walker. Now he was paying attention to _everything_. Something about their separation didn't sit well with him. They were too distant with each other, both physically and emotionally. They were both very tactile people, especially Walker (she'd always had a problem with keeping her hands to herself when it came to Chuck), and yet since the breakup they never got near each other. It was almost like they were purposely staying away from each other, like if they didn't, they wouldn't be able to keep their hands off each other. The distance was obvious, yet at the same time sort of artificial.

Even when they had broken up before in the past, they had still spent more time together than was necessary. Now was not the case. The tapes showed that they barely talked to each other, and only spent time together when they absolutely had to. That was probably the most suspicious thing of all. Bartowski was usually such a puppy, following Walker around with his tail between his legs, even when they weren't together. Walker seemed to be the puppy this time around, always giving Chuck those big blue eyes that usually made most men lose control of their senses. Casey admired Chuck's resolve (a lesser man would have caved to those eyes long ago) but he was hesitant to believe it.

For the most part, he was convinced. Their separation seemed genuine, their distance real, and the animosity that had crackled between them intense. But he had learned long ago to never trust appearances and he seriously questioned whether or not they could actually function independently of each other anymore. There wasn't much he could do though. Every indication was that everything was on the level and he had finally gotten all he'd ever wanted: Walker was maintaining her distance (even if it was obviously killing her) and her professionalism and Bartowski was listening far more than he had before. They weren't annoying him with their on-again, off-again "romance" (which still managed to annoy him anyway), they weren't letting their lady feelings get in the way of the job, and they were acting like professionals should.

He couldn't complain, shouldn't complain, but this new arrangement was increasingly becoming as annoying as the old arrangement. His teammates were not the same. Chuck had become almost tolerable.

Casey shook his head and forced himself to concentrate on his surroundings. Just because he was going up against Bartowski didn't mean he should be woolgathering. That was a good way to end up dead. He had been training Chuck after all. In a way, he was going up against himself here. Besides, the faster he reached the objective, the faster he could shut Chuck up about this ridiculous contest and get him to back off. Also the faster he could kick back at his apartment with some scotch and his favorite brand of tuna.

Casey whispered quietly, "What's your location, Walker?" Sarah had rolled her eyes when he broke out the secure tactical radios they used while on missions. Normally he wouldn't have approved of using government property for something so frivolous, but this was not an ordinary paintball match. Sarah hadn't said a word when she took her radio, but he could see in her eyes that she thought he was blowing this all out of proportion. She just didn't understand. She didn't realize just how much was at stake. This was life and death. He could not, under any circumstances, lose.

"I'm about 70 yards northwest of your position, I think." Sarah paused and he could hear a slight rustling sound, like tree branches brushing against a body. "I can see Chuck just up ahead."

Casey immediately started to increase his pace, heading in Sarah's general direction. His heart started to beat faster and he could feel the tell-tale rush of adrenaline infuse his body. God how he loved this; how he loved the hunt. "Keep him in sight, Walker, but don't engage. I want him to myself."

He just knew his partner was rolling her eyes (she seemed to be doing that a lot lately) at him but still she chuckled quietly. "I figured as much. Don't worry, he's not even moving. He's just sitting on a rock."

That pulled Casey up short and he slowed his pace to a more controlled rate. He had learned long ago not to underestimate the nerd. He might have been useless when it came time to actually fight, but he had shown a remarkable capacity for innovative and out-of-the-box tactical thinking. He knew Chuck, he knew that Chuck must have a plan, because he knew Chuck was not going to give up and let him win without a fight. He just couldn't think of what Chuck's plan might be.

"He's just sitting there?"

"Yeah, and it looks like he's got his flag too," Sarah whispered.

"He's not even trying." Sitting still and holding his flag at the same time? There was no logical reason for Chuck to be giving him that kind of two-for-one deal. "What about the other idiots? Maybe they're setting up an ambush."

"This is Morgan and Captain Awesome you're talking about, not Seal Team-6. There is no way they got past me without me knowing."

Casey winced slightly. Whoops. Sarah sounded decidedly annoyed that he would accuse her of letting Morgan Grimes, of all people, from getting past her. Still, if it wasn't an ambush, just what was Chuck doing? "Relax, Walker, there's no need to get your lady feelings involved. I just wanted to make sure he was alone."

"Well, he is, okay?" Sarah whispered harshly. "He looks bored and tired. I think he completely underestimated this whole thing."

Casey chuckled slightly in agreement. That didn't surprise him, as he had kind of expected as much. Chuck had taken to firearms training like a fish to water, but he still had a long way to go before he was even mediocre in the field. He wasn't surprised that Chuck had underestimated just how difficult something like paintball might be, especially for someone who wasn't used to much physical activity. He was still in shock that Bartowski and his idiot friend had agreed to this in the first place. "I'm close, approaching from the southeast. When I give the signal, drive him toward me. I'll shoot him and you can grab the flag." Casey figured he should let his partner get some credit for the victory, make it a team effort. She deserved it and he couldn't wait to see Bartowski's face when she showed herself. That'll teach the idiot for rejecting her. "We'll be done with more than enough time to grab the pancake special at…"

Sarah interrupted, "He just got up and started walking east. I can't see him anymore."

Casey cursed and got low to the ground, placing his paintball gun in firing position. He crawled slowly toward the clearing where Chuck was supposed to be. "Stay where you are, I'm coming to you. He couldn't have gone far."

Casey was tempted to check his PDA for Chuck's location, but he had promised Chuck that he would not use Chuck's GPS locator to cheat during their game. Chuck had almost refused to go through with the match when both he and Sarah had insisted that he wear his watch, but it had been one of Casey's conditions. There had been too many occurrences in the past where Chuck had taken his watch off and something bad had happened to risk that happening now. Chuck would just have to take the two of them on their word that they wouldn't use the GPS unless it was absolutely necessary. Besides, Casey didn't want to cheat; he wanted to beat Chuck on his own. "Walker?"

There was no response. He felt the hair on the back of his neck rise. Something was not right. There was no reason for Sarah to be radio silent. "Walker, respond." Still no response. "Damnit, Walker, where are you?" Things were starting to get hinky.

Casey came upon the small clearing where Chuck had last been spotted. But as he stuck his head through a part in some bushes to get a good look, all he saw was Walker sitting on a boulder.

He was completely confused. What the hell was Walker playing at? Why was she just sitting there and where was Chuck? Was she trying to be bait to draw Chuck out of hiding?

He tried to reach Walker through her com, but again she didn't respond. He didn't want to reveal his position, but this whole situation was just weird. He looked on the ground near him for a rock to throw at his partner. Was she even alive?

He finally found a rock suitable for throwing and threw it at Sarah's right leg. When it hit, she let out a yelp and said angrily, "I already know you're here, Casey."

He still didn't want to give away his position so he continued to use his radio, whispering, "Then why the hell weren't you responding?"

"Chuck's gone."

"I can see that, Walker." Casey tried to be patient, but he knew his frustration at the situation was steadily mounting. He had been so close. "But where is he now?"

"I looked, couldn't find him. I guess I lost him." She sounded completely unconcerned and unapologetic.

"Damnit, Walker, how could you lose him? He was sitting right in front of you!"

"I think he went into that copse of trees," Sarah pointed to a grouping of four pines surrounded by hedges, "to go to the bathroom. When he didn't come back, I checked it out but he was gone."

"Why didn't you follow him?" Casey moved to his knees, still checking his surroundings. He pushed partway into the bush hedges in front of him, gun at the ready. He was scanning everything around him, trying to see any indication of where Chuck might have gone or what he was up to. He had no idea how the hell Chuck had given his partner the slip, but it wouldn't have been the first time that the two handlers had lost sight of their asset and prevented him from doing something stupid. He should have expected it here; he should have never expected Sarah to do the job she was supposed to do. When it came to Chuck, she always had trouble doing the smart thing.

"Because I'm not you. I don't get off on watching Chuck _all the time_. I think he deserves some privacy."

"Oh wonderful. So because you couldn't do one simple task, I'm going to have to keep stumbling around this damn park." Casey was standing up now, too annoyed to be that concerned about exposing himself. He could see no sign of Chuck anywhere. He was starting to wonder if Chuck had even been in the clearing to begin with. He shifted his gun to point at Sarah. Right now, she was the only lead he had as to what was actually going on.

"This was your idea!" Sarah was standing now as well, agitated. "Chuck wanted to play a video game."

Casey grunted and started to walk toward his partner. There was no point to yelling from across the clearing (it would just let the three idiots they were up against know where they were). "Oh yeah, that's a real challenge. A bunch of nerds just sitting around, working their finger muscles real hard as they try to kill a bunch of pixels on a screen." He rolled his eyes, gun down at his hip.

Walker was standing directly in front of him now, clearly pissed off and her own gun pointed right at him. He was starting to wonder if maybe Sarah was going to be the one who actually shot him. Now he understood how officers had gotten fragged in Vietnam.

"Oh I bet you'd love that though. Get off on it," Casey snarled. He knew he was crossing a line but he was so angry that she had let Chuck get away. "Oh wait, I forgot, you're not getting off on anything right now are you?"

"Screw you, Casey."

"I know you're pretty desperate these days, but how many times do I have to tell you? Not interested."

"You can be a real ass sometimes." Sarah suddenly shoved a hand into her tactical vest. When she pulled her hand back out there was a bright red piece of cloth in her hand. "I just want you to know, that before this morning, I actually felt a little guilty about all of this."

Casey tensed instantly and renewed his scan of the area. He tightened his grip on his gun. "Walker, that's not Chuck's flag." The gun came up to rest against his shoulder. "Why do you have our flag with you?"

Sarah just smirked, unrepentant. She was positively glowing with pleasure. "I know," was all she said.

And right at that moment, it all clicked for Casey. He got it. Their behavior made sense now. Everything made sense: the breakup, the fighting, the acting like they wanted nothing to do with each other. How had he not seen this coming? How did he get played so easily? "You guys never really ended things did you?"

"Nope."

Casey heard a twig snap behind him. "Chuck's right behind me, isn't he?"

"Yup."

Casey felt the impact of two paintballs hit him in the back. Then Chuck's very pleased, "Bang, you're dead."

Casey slumped, his shoulders sagging. They'd played him and he'd walked right into their trap. "I don't believe it."

Chuck walked up to Sarah and she gave him the flag. She grinned at Chuck then, happier than he could remember her looking in a month. Even Casey could admit that he had missed that smile (at least his partner was back).

"I believe this means I won," Chuck said and waved the flag in front of Casey's face. He had one of the largest smiles Casey had ever seen.

Casey did the only thing he could do: he dropped his gun to the ground and he laughed.


	4. The Reveal

**Author's Note:** So, I never really intended for the plot of this story to be a surprise. I mean, the title of the story is a dead giveaway about what's going to happen. But very few people probably know what a Kansas City Shuffle actually is. So I'd like to impart some information/useless trivia on you. Kansas City Shuffle is the real name of a real confidence game. It's a fairly well known con, predicated on misdirection and subterfuge. I thought it was perfect for this story. It was used as the main plot device in the very underrated flick Lucky Number Slevin (which you should all see if you haven't already) and is where I'd gotten the inspiration for Chuck and Sarah's little trick on poor Casey. Still, I gotta say, it was a lotta fun seeing Chuck get the better of Casey for once. Maybe in the next story I do with these two, Casey will finally be a little nicer to Chuck. Probably not though.

* * *

Chuck felt a feeling of elation and triumph that he had not experienced in some time. He had won. He had beaten Casey at his own game.

It had not been easy and it had most definitely not been fun, but he had done it. A month of painstaking planning, pretending, and scheming had finally paid off. A part of him wasn't really sure if seeing the utter disbelief on Casey's face was worth the month spent estranged from Sarah, but he refused to second guess himself in his moment of victory. He had won and he was going to savor that victory. He could reflect on the cost later.

He was already beginning to reap the fruits of his labor. Now that he had finally beaten Casey, he didn't really see the need to keeping up appearances anymore. Sarah apparently felt the same, as she had grabbed his hand right after she gave him the flag and hadn't let go since. She was squeezing his hand so hard that there'd be marks for hours, but he didn't dare tell her to let go. If she even knew he was thinking along such lines she'd probably kick his ass. It was like she was afraid the chasm that had for so long been between them would reappear again and was doing everything she could to keep him anchored as close to her as possible. She didn't really have anything to worry about, the plan, the mission, was over. There was no need to act like he wanted nothing to do with her anymore and he certainly wasn't going anywhere. That didn't mean he wouldn't mind avoiding a couple broken fingers though.

This was the most contact he'd get out of her, at least while Casey was around. Even now, her control and restraint seemed superhuman. Chuck wanted to just wrap his arms around her and never let go. He wanted to bury his face in her hair, breathe her in deeply, and feel her body surround him. But he couldn't, not now, and definitely not while she continued to insist that they could never cross that boundary because of who they both were. Still, that didn't mean he couldn't tell how badly their separation had affected her. Despite her body practically humming with nervous apprehension and need for a greater level of closeness, she would only let herself hold his hand. But the strength of her grip spoke as loudly as any words could.

They had resolutely avoided any kind of physical contact for fear of blowing the plan, of giving away the fact that they'd never actually broken up, of proving that they didn't actually hate each other. But now that was not an issue, and Chuck could revel in the fact of being less than a foot away from whom he thought was the love of his life without having to pretend that he'd rather spend a night at Bennie's with Jeff and Lester than five minutes with her.

Casey was still laughing. Chuck was thoroughly amused himself. This was another reward, although completely unforeseen. He hadn't expected this reaction. If anything, he had expected Casey to be furious when he lost (and Chuck had always known Casey would lose). Casey was taking this much better than even Sarah had thought he would. The man hadn't even threatened to tear his arms off his body for beating him. During the last month, Chuck had had a frequent nightmare where, upon emerging victorious over Casey, the scene from Star Wars where C-3PO had advised R2-D2 to let Chewie win would play over and over again in his head. Except in the nightmare, Chewie was replaced by Casey and he took the place of R2, always winning but always getting his arms ripped out of their sockets in return. There had been a lot of sleepless nights thanks to that.

Casey finally started to calm down, holding his sides and taking deep breaths. Chuck could not remember ever seeing Casey have such an unguarded display of emotion. That was almost worth everything right there. He had made Casey laugh, genuinely laugh. He felt a great swell of pride at the accomplishment.

Now much calmer and much more like his usual taciturn self, Casey walked over to sit on the same boulder Sarah had been sitting on earlier.

Chuck was content to wait for Casey to talk first. Besides, he was enjoying the moment too much to disrupt it with his usual unrestrained babbling.

Casey finally spoke, still looking at the both of them with a slightly disbelieving grin on his face. "I really don't believe it," he said.

Chuck grinned and started to walk closer to Casey and Sarah came with him. She still wouldn't let go of his hand. He shrugged his shoulders and tried hard to fight a growing smirk at her actions. "Believe it, big guy. I told you I'd win."

Casey grunted but there was a hint of a proud smile on his face. "That you did." He shook his head, the smile gradually disappearing. "I knew something wasn't right about this whole situation from the start, but I let you get to me. You knew just how to play me."

"If it makes you feel any better, it wasn't easy for us," Sarah said.

Casey chuckled and looked pointedly at their still conjoined hands. "It would seem not."

Chuck flushed at the slight rebuke in Casey's gaze and started to extricate his hand from Sarah's, but she tightened her grip even more (if that were possible), preventing him from breaking their bond. Chuck looked at Sarah in surprise, but saw that she was too busy staring at Casey defiantly to notice his widening eyes. Wow, maybe this month apart had greater benefits than he initially thought. It seemed that Sarah was just waiting for Casey to say something, but the big man just shrugged his shoulders.

This freaked Chuck out. Casey's non-reaction to their physical contact was decidedly un-Casey like. In fact, Casey had not been acting like Casey for some time now. Chuck still remembered the very uncomfortable feeling he had felt when Casey had actually _encouraged_ him to patch things up with Sarah just a few days ago. That had been one of the singularly strangest moments of his life. Casey taking an interest in his personal life and actually trying to give him relationship advice involving Sarah of all people? It was sheer madness! He wondered just what Casey's angle was. Was he trying to lull them into a false sense of security so he could spring a trap on them later? The irony of that possibility was not lost on him.

He shook his head and forced himself to focus. He didn't want to get distracted; he might miss out on more fruits. "Yeah, Casey, it was one of the hardest things I've ever done," Chuck said.

"Look, I just want to know whose idea it was."

"Which part? Cause there were a lot of parts," Chuck said.

Sarah smiled and relaxed from her confrontational posture. Chuck wasn't sure it was smart to be egging Casey on at this point so he was glad to feel the tension drain out of her body. "Chuck came up with most of it," she said rather proudly. "But the breakup was my idea."

"Really?" Casey looked clearly surprised. "I would have thought that was Chuck's idea all the way."

"No, unfortunately, that was all me." For the first time since they'd been reunited, Chuck could feel her eyes on him. "Chuck just took to it a little more…seriously than I was expecting."

Chuck blushed and spun around to face Sarah, who was frowning up at him. He grabbed her other hand so that now he was holding both of her hands, his thumbs lightly stroking the back of her palms. He stared into her cloudy blue eyes. "Sorry," he said as sincerely as he could. "I knew that if I didn't try as hard as I could to make it real, that I'd cave in a second. It killed me. Every second, it killed me."

Chuck wasn't lying. It had killed him to act the part. It was the only way to pull the plan off. Casey had to believe that they had ended things and that they were no longer speaking to each other, so that he'd begin to think of them as separate, so that he'd think he could play one off against the other and so that he'd allow Sarah close to him whenever the inevitable contest occurred. And in order to make Casey believe it, he had had to believe it too. Sarah had stressed how important that was to making a believable cover. If you wanted to be someone else, you had to think like someone else too. He could no longer be Chuck Bartowski, lovesick fool who would do anything for the girl of his dreams, but instead had to become Chuck Bartowski, pissed off, resentful bastard who just wanted the woman who couldn't commit to leave him alone.

He still remembered the fight where they'd actually ended things so vividly. He remembered the way his face had heated, the way the air in Castle had had a slight staleness to it that day, how cold Sarah's eyes had been. They had rehearsed that fight for hours, what they would say, when they would say them, how'd they look, even down to how they would position their bodies relative to each other. It was only thanks to that rehearsal that Chuck hadn't made a complete fool out of himself and blown the whole operation. He knew Sarah hadn't meant the words she'd said (she had been seriously worried that he would believe she actually had wanted to leave with Cole) but that still hadn't stopped them from hurting. Again, the believability factor had reared its ugly head. The fight had to seem real, so the things that were said had to be things that would actually be damaging. He could only imagine how Sarah must have felt as a result of some of his comments. He was looking forward to sitting down with Sarah and having a long talk about everything.

Still, Sarah's words bothered him. He hoped he hadn't gone overboard. He wasn't like her; he didn't have her skill with assuming a different identity at the drop of a hat. Like most things with the spy world, he either overcompensated or did such a poor job it inevitably led to Casey insulting him. Had he been too convincing? Had he needed to take things so far? Could they have spent more time together? Talked more? He had made himself think and act like he would if they really had ended their relationship because that's what he thought he needed to do. It had depressed the hell out of him. Yet at the same time, Sarah had encouraged him, had told him he was doing a good job and to keep up the good work. He was so confused. He was looking forward to going back to their ridiculously complicated, confusing, maddening, but still very familiar, thing under the cover thing.

Intruding on his thoughts, Sarah quietly said, "I know. It's okay. I know why it had to be done, and why you did what you did. I felt the same way. I'm just sorry I ever suggested it."

Casey harrumphed behind them and they both turned to him at the same time. "Are you both done yet?" He sounded annoyed and was glaring at them.

"Sorry," Chuck said. He almost sighed in relief. The disapproving glare was back. Maybe Casey was finally back to normal.

Casey shook his head, muttering under his breath. Out loud, he said, "How did you do it? I went over the surveillance tapes every damn night looking exactly for something like this." His scowl deepened. "You guys never talked, never spent anytime together that wasn't for the job, and I know you didn't go to Walker's."

Chuck grinned. This part he was particularly proud of. It had taken him forever to think of a way of communicating with Sarah without Casey knowing, when one night while staring at his ceiling unable to sleep, the idea had just come to him. "Off-site repair calls."

Casey groaned and actually covered his face with his hands. "You've gotta be kidding me."

"Sorry, Casey, but you should have known better," Sarah said.

Casey stood up and all traces of wry amusement left him. "You know what this means now, don't you?"

Chuck, confused at the sudden change in tone, asked, "What?"

Casey let out a long-suffering sigh. "It means that we're going to have change our entire protocol for when Chuckles here leaves on those stupid calls now."

"Oh."

"Yeah, didn't think about that before, did you?" He scowled at the both of them. "Yet more damn work," he muttered. He walked up to stand in front of them, looking directly at Sarah. "One of us is going to have to start going with him to make sure something like this doesn't happen again." Then his face suddenly brightened, and he had an evil glint in his eyes. "Congratulations, Walker, since this whole thing is mostly your fault, you just volunteered!"

Sarah groaned and shut her eyes briefly, a very sour look on her face. Chuck wondered if maybe he should be offended by the entire exchange but wisely kept his mouth shut. He didn't think either of his handlers would appreciate him pointing out that he sympathized with them. If he hated the damn off-site calls, he could only imagine how mind-numbingly boring it would be for them.

Sarah recovered fast and eventually shrugged her shoulders. "It's okay; we already did what we had to do."

"What was it you always tell me, Casey? Do whatever it takes to win a fight, right?"

"There are limits, Bartowski."

"You're just grumpy because you got tricked so easily," Sarah said.

"Maybe I never thought my partner would betray me just so she could get a taste of some peanut butter."

Sarah widened her eyes, her entire face flushing pink. Chuck had no idea what the hell the two of them were talking about. "Yeah, well, maybe you shouldn't have forgotten that I'm the daughter of a conman!" Chuck wondered if he was actually going to have to step between the two partners, then decided that he actually liked breathing and quickly discarded that idea.

"What the hell does that have to do with anything?"

"One of the oldest cons in the book and you fell for it hook, line, and sinker." Sarah looked at Casey smugly. "We barely even had to try. I mean, come on, a month? I thought it would take at least two."

Chuck very carefully took several steps back, away from the two partners who were staring at each other with incredibly angry, heated glares. He was not going to risk a fist or foot missing their target when the two eventually came to blows.

"Barely had to try," Casey scoffed. "I actually believed Bartowski, you looked like you were ready to crawl back to him on your knees, begging him to take you back, after the first freaking day. You're slipping, Walker."

"Uh, guys?" Chuck risked drawing their ire onto him because he really didn't want them to start fighting. Wasn't this whole day supposed to be about his great victory anyway? They were losing focus! "Guys!"

Both Sarah and Casey turned to glare at him, both yelling, "What?!" simultaneously as well.

Chuck flinched and said nervously, "Maybe we could not fight? Please?"

Sarah softened instantly, and stepped over to stand next to him. She still stared at Casey, but there was no longer the intense anger in her eyes. Chuck sighed in relief. Casey, for his part, maintained his anger for a little while longer, but he too eventually calmed down.

Casey stared at him, his eyes unreadable. He asked, "How did you know I'd pick paintball?"

"I didn't. But knowing you, I figured that whatever you picked, it would probably be something involving guns and it would probably involve you trying to shoot me with said guns." Casey smirked at that and Chuck grinned. "That was where Sarah came in. I guess you could say she was my double agent." Chuck shrugged and added, "If by some small miracle you actually agreed to something like my Call of Duty idea…well, the thing with Sarah might have been a waste, but I knew I'd kick your ass at that too so it all kind of evened out."

"Oh you knew you'd kick my ass, huh?"

"I told you I'd win, Casey. You should have believed me and just given in."

Casey just grunted, looking like he might be on the verge of pouting.

"Speaking of which, Casey, I believe you owe me something."

Casey looked away. He didn't say anything.

"Come on, big guy, I won fair and square."

"You didn't win anything," Casey said, fixing his eyes back on him. "I only lost because my partner's a traitor," Casey said stubbornly and glowered at Sarah.

Sarah interjected, "It's your own fault for getting suckered." Sarah folded her arms across her breasts. Chuck seriously hoped the two weren't about to get into things again. "I mean come on, did you really believe all that stuff Chuck and I did and said to each other? Did you really think after all the crap you give me about how compromised I am that I'd give up on Chuck so easily?"

"I don't know, Walker, considering that most of the time you're nothing more than an emotional cripple and toy with Chuck like a yo-yo, why shouldn't I think it's beyond the realm of possibility that you'd screw something up so badly that Bartowski would finally wake up and realize just how bad an idea a relationship with you would possibly be. Naaaaah, you're right, that's insane," he added sarcastically.

"Ouch."

Casey sighed and rubbed a hand along the side of his face. "Yeah, that was probably out of line. Sorry," he mumbled, "it's been a bit of a crappy morning."

Chuck wondered if the two of them even remembered that he was still there.

Sarah, though she looked affected by what Casey had said about her, stuck stubbornly to her point. "Still, Casey, you had to realize that was something was off."

"Well…yes, I don't know, maybe." Casey scowled and tried to look menacing. "But you two were just so convincing. I knew that you had the chops to pull off the acting job, but I never thought moron," he hooked his thumb in Chuck's general direction, "over here had the intestinal fortitude to pull it off. He normally acts like somebody just kicked his puppy right in front of him when you so much as give him a harsh look."

Chuck stuck his tongue out at Casey who merely rolled his eyes in response. "Real mature, Bartowski."

Chuck grinned and said proudly, "Hey, I won. I beat the great John Casey at a war game. I can do whatever the hell I want."

"Oh God, I'm never going to live this down, am I?"

"Where would be the fun in that?"

"Sometimes I really hate you, Bartowski." Casey shrugged his shoulders and started to gather his gear up. "Most days, though, I'm just glad you're around to keep life interesting." Then Casey started to walk away.

Chuck started after him, complaining, "Hey, wait, that wasn't the deal!"

Sarah put a restraining hand on his arm, automatically stopping him up short, and preventing him from chasing after the rapidly retreating man. "Let him go, Chuck. I think you should give him time to decompress. Casey is capable of many things, but welching on a bet is not one of them."

Chuck sighed; he could no longer see Casey, he'd already disappeared behind the trees and bushes surrounding the clearing. All this time and effort and he didn't even get the satisfaction of hearing the words he swore he would get out of Casey. He would take Sarah's advice and let Casey come to terms with the fact that he had lost, but he would pester the big man later and he would get what he was owed.

He turned to face Sarah, his good humor back along with a smirk on his face. "Speaking of reneging on a bet, I believe there is the matter of a little wager between us as well."

Sarah rolled her eyes but still grinned up at him. "It's not fair." Her grin quickly morphed into an exaggerated pout. "That was a sucker's bet if I ever saw one. If he had just held out for a few more days…" She poked him in the chest, sounding very put out, "The only reason I agreed to the stupid bet was because it was the only way you'd agree to my part of the plan."

"I never wanted to break up with you in the first place, but _you_ made me!"

"Yeah, well, you were the one who was so insistent that you get Casey to do this whole stupid contest in the first place. I told you when I agreed to help you that I'd only help if we did it right, and that was the only way to ensure we'd win."

"And I hated every second of it."

"Really?"

Chuck didn't know why Sarah sounded so surprised; he'd already told her earlier how much he'd hated it. Again, he worried about how Sarah had taken his words if she needed him to reassure her even more. Maybe she had thought he was just saying those things for Casey's benefit? "Of course." Sarah's face brightened and Chuck knew he was probably grinning stupidly back at her. "Couldn't you tell?"

"I don't know, Chuck," Sarah said, suddenly coy. "You were _very_ convincing." She composed her face into a skeptical frown. "After all, you did fool Casey."

Chuck scoffed. "That wasn't so hard. He saw what he wanted to see. He actually thought I'd rather break up with you and drive you to some other guy than be forced to kiss you every day."

"Forced? Would it be so bad?"

Chuck grinned, leaned close to Sarah, and said, "I'm sure I could suffer through it."

"You better." Sarah moved closer as well and Chuck impulsively pulled her into his arms. Sarah didn't object, in fact she moved even closer, resting her chin on his shoulder and placing her mouth right next to his ear. He shivered at the gentle sensation of her breath coasting along the shelf of his ear. It took him a few seconds to realize that Sarah was speaking before he was able to concentrate on her words. "If you ever make me go through something like that again, Chuck Bartowski, I will seriously hurt you." She tightened her grip to a painful level. "Do we understand each other?"

Chuck could only nod his head emphatically. He really wished Sarah would loosen her grip so he could breathe properly, but at the same time he was rather enjoying the way certain body parts were pressing against him. "Never again, Sarah, I promise."

"You're damn right never again." Sarah finally loosened her grip and stepped away, a light flush coloring her face. "Come on, we should – uh – go find Awesome and Morgan. And then we're going back to my place." Sarah set off down the same path Casey had taken, not even looking back to see if Chuck was following her.

Chuck blinked and tried to jumpstart his brain from the sudden and abrupt stop her words had sent it to. When he finally got it working again, he took off after Sarah. "What? Really? I never actually expected you to follow through on that bet, you know. Seriously, Sarah, you don't have to."

Sarah didn't stop her hurried pace but she did look over her shoulder to fix Chuck with a determined look. "I never go back on a bet either, Chuck."

She reached out for Chuck's hand, grabbed it, and pulled him forward until he was matching her step for step. Chuck grinned and couldn't believe how this day had gone. It was a great day, and he couldn't think of a better way of ending it, than a walk in the park with his beautiful, sort of fake, real girlfriend at his side.

* * *

And that is that! Let me just say a big giant thank you to everyone who reviewed this story. You guys are completely awesome! I hope you enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed thinking of all the labyrinthine ways Chuck could trick Casey. And before anyone asks, the end is entirely left up to your (as the reader) interpretation. What you see here is pretty much the extent, however poor it might be, of my romance/fluff writing skills (I leave that kind of writing up to vastly more skilled hands, such as author's like fAteD lOvE or brickroad16). So no, I won't tell you just what kind of bet Chuck made with Sarah and no, I won't tell you just what they plan on doing once they get back to Sarah's hotel room. Feel free to come up with your own scenarios. Use your imaginations!


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